Meera activated Eagle Eye. She didn't need it to enjoy the view before her, but she liked to survey what she was getting into. Before her lay a serene valley with farms in the basin, a river crossing through them, and woods thick as any that climbed the cliff off to the side. It wasn't a true valley but quite close to it. She could see how it got its name as the cliff rose high into the sky, acting as a shield.

Upon zooming in with her eyes, she saw huts in the village similar to what she had seen in the loggers' settlement. It was too far for her to see people milling about, but she was sure they were there. She saw a lone hut in the woods, not too far from the village. Smoke rose from its chimney.

Meera shrugged and made her way down the valley. It was easygoing. The main road was a well-traveled patch of ground where the grass did not grow. She followed it down to the valley, humming the tune of her favorite song. She pulled out her phone from her belt, which gave new meaning to the term traveling light. She hoped she could get some lightning skill to charge the thing. By now, it must have lost all its charge.

The morning sun beat down on her, and Mirithia was faint in the sky but still ever-present. She was sure being out in the sun for long periods of time was not doing wonders for her complexion. If anything, it was making her more like a Varshan.

She put those thoughts behind her and focused on her journey. Neel was her sole focus. She had to get to him, and if she faced a little discrimination, then so be it. Maybe I should pay someone to sew the letters—Not a Varshan—on my shirt.

She started and looked down at her and slapped her forehead. She was still wearing the clothes that Sirala had given her. She never bothered to change into the armor she had found in the cave. This is just like me. Mom would have lectured me to no end.

Meera picked up the pace and headed to the forest as she was not about to change out in the open, where anyone could be watching from the woods. It didn't take her long to get to the woods, even without Wolf Speed.

She surveyed the woods with Eagle Eye once more, ensuring no one was about. Over the last two days, she had learned that even the belt worked through mental commands. She just had to open the flap, and a screen popped up in her vision, letting her see the contents of the belt and pull out whatever she needed.

She focused on the four pieces of the light assassin armor and pulled it out. It appeared on the ground before her. The armor was black as night, light but firm. This would work perfectly since she had her attributes focused on speed and dexterity.

She quickly removed her clothes and put the armor on, and to her surprise, it was a perfect fit. She stored the clothes back in the belt. Since she was standing in the shadow of the tree, she decided to try her new skill, Shadowmeld.

It only took a spark of her Mana, but she, like the name of the skill, melded with the tree's shadow. Her hands and body became smoky and translucent, like looking through a dirty pane of glass. If she stood still, it would be hard to tell her apart from the shadow of the tree. She didn't feel any different, but it was a surreal experience.

She moved her hand out of the shadow and into the light, and it returned to normal. She shut off the skill and made a mental note to play with it later. Next was her attribute points in her hurry to get here. She had forgotten to allocate those as well.

Her first thought was to dump them into Dexterity, Agility, and Endurance, but she stopped herself as she needed Mana as well. After a careful look at her stats, she could use some health as well, not to mention, more Perception couldn't hurt as she was on her own and didn't have others to watch her back.

Ultimately, she ended up putting points in everything aside from Power, as she had Primal Power to make up for it.

Stats

[Health: 280]

[Stamina: 390]

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

[Mana: 210]

Attributes

[Constitution: 28]

[Power: 15]

[Dexterity: 29]

[Endurance: 39]

[Focus: 21]

[Agility: 33]

[Perception: 30]

Just as she was done putting points, she heard something. Her Instincts screamed at her to run. She lurched forward and bent down, and just in time, the tree behind exploded into splinters. A massive crystal club, almost like a mirror, was sticking out of the tree trunk. She could see her reflection in it. The tree must have been three feet wide, but the club still came through it like nothing.

The club got pulled back, creating a massive hole in the tree. Meera activated Eagle Eye, Nimble Ears and pulled off two chakrams, one in each hand. A moment passed nothing happened. Meera stood slowly, took a step back gingerly, and stepped on a stick that cracked loudly.

There was a guttural roar, and something smashed against the tree, uprooting it and making it fall toward Meera. Her eyes widened, and she jumped out of the way of the falling tree. The tree crashed against another nearby tree.

Nothing could've prepared Meera for what she saw next. Firstly, the club was not a club but an arm, and what she thought was a huge man or bear was a massive creature made of a mirror-like crystal. She could see the surrounding reflected in its body. It must've stood about seven feet tall, with a broad torso, and even had a sort of head attached to the body but no neck. She spared no time in scanning it.

[Mirror Golem – Level ??]

She wondered how to take this thing down. It would be no easy task considering she didn't even know its level. If it was too much, she could always run. She launched her chakrams at the golem. It raised its arm to defend. The chakrams got embedded in its arm. She heard the notification bell but had no time to see what skill she had stolen, even though she wanted to.

She recalled her chakram and used Shadow step to put some distance between the two of them, but it didn't take her where she wanted to go. It only took her to the shade created by the fallen-over tree.

What the hell?

It was the wrong move as the golem smashed his arms down on the tree trunk. Meera used Shadow Step again, but she only moved a few inches. She jumped out of the way of the crashing tree. It was a very near miss. Her shoulder took a slight blow, but for the most part, she made it out okay. The tree shook the ground as it fell.

The golem didn't give her any respite as he extended an arm and shot her with a sharp, spinning mirror. Meera threw her chakram at it and blew the golem's mirror to pieces. She didn't wait a moment after that and ran. She recalled her chakram as she ran. The golem roared and came for her. His feet thud heavily on the ground, which made her wonder why she didn't notice it before it attacked. She should have heard these even without Nimble Ears.

The heavy thuds stopped, and Meera didn't stop to see what gave the golem pause. She heard a slight sound thanks to Nimble Ears. It was like glass rubbing against glass. Meera's instincts screamed once again.

She saw the nearest tree and used Shadow Step, hoping it would work correctly this time, and it did. She stood in the shadow created by the thick tree. The next moment, a barrage of mirrors hit the tree trunk and even flew past the side of the tree. It was like a barrage of triangular, razor-sharp mirrors.

As she cowered behind the tree, she realized why Shadow Step did not work as she wanted it to. It was in the name—Shadow Step. She could only Step into areas shrouded in shadow. She remembered it being stated as such in the skill description as well.

I really ought to read these skills more carefully.

The golem's barrage continued, and she used that time to get up to the high branches using Shadow Step. Luckily, there were more than enough shadows for her. The mirror barrage stopped a few moments later. She prayed that the golem hadn't seen her, even though it had no eyes.

The golem took its time coming to check if she were dead or not. In the meantime, she hoped Ambush Tactics would find a way to bring the creature down. There were several options. She could use Fireplosion. If it worked on people, it could very well work on a walking mirror. She decided to keep it as a last resort.

For now, the golem was standing right below her. She held two chakrams in one hand, tightened her grip, and activated Primal Power. She would take it down the same way she had taken down the Alpha Ape.

She jumped from her branch, and the golem noticed. Its body shifted so that it was 'looking' at her. She activated Monkey Fist and crashed onto his head, or she would have if not for the giant circular mirror that appeared between them.

She broke it, and another appeared closer to the golem's head. Another punch, and she broke it too. A third mirror showed up. This one was thick like a shield. Meera saw her image as a hooded rogue with a raised fist. She roared as she brought her fist crashing down on it. The golem didn't have a chance to erect a fourth as the momentum of the blow carried her fist directly into its head, cleaving it into two. She landed with her feet on the golem's shoulders when it broke into a million pieces like a piece of glass dropped from a height.

Meera fell to the ground but luckily avoided any serious cuts. She lay on her back, breathing heavily. "The head is its weak point. Got it."

Then she heard another roar and felt the heavy thudding of feet coming closer.